Review: Milligram Cotton B5 Dot Grid Bullet Journal

I was so incredibly excited about receiving this note book – I had recently reviewed the B5 Scribbles that matter and to review the B5 Milligram Cotton Dot Grid Bullet Journal couldn’t be more exciting! So let us get straight into it: Review: Milligram Cotton B5 Dot Grid Bullet Journal

The packaging was awesome and I was lucky enough to get a gorgeous Milligram fountain pen too. I was ecstatic!

What does Milligram say in the description of the Milligram Cotton B5 Dot Grid Bullet Journal?

The cover of this notebook is encased in Dutch linen creating texture, durability and a timeless style.

Filled with paper that performs well with most fountain-pens, there is also an elastic closure, a ribbon, a useful back pocket and subtle foil emboss indicating page style which beautifully complements this natural material. The range is offered in various ruling styles to suit all tastes.

Milligram Studio is designed by stationery lovers in Melbourne, Australia. Milligram’s mission is to deliver measured design, beautiful utility and to spark emotion with every item created. These designs coupled with playful yet thoughtful offerings produce stationery & lifestyle objects that are design-led and built to last. Everything Milligram Studio creates is highly functional, environmentally considered, designed in-house and often in collaboration with special partners.

Cost of the Milligram Cotton B5 Dot Grid Bullet Journal, this is pretty reasonable for a B5 at $39.95AUD and is available on the Miligram Website.

The Cover of the Milligram Cotton B5 Dot Grid Bullet Journal

The hard-cover fabric cover is great, and let’s be honest here – after taking pics I spilt some of my coffee on it because I’m a total ning-nong and it came right off. I was sent the Black version of this and the cover seems robust and I adore the little “Dot” embossed detail on the front cover, its done with silver foil which give is a nice touch. The back has the same foil embossed feel with the Milligram logo.

Review Milligram Linen Notebook Dot Grid

There is (as they state) an elastic closure loop and 1 ribbon. The inside is lined with black paper.

When I sized it up with a A5 Journal and my B5 Scribbles That Matter, you can see that the Milligram Cotton B5 Dot Grid Bullet Journal has quite sharp edges, and it looks really sleek.

Review Milligram Linen Notebook Dot Grid

Now if I’m honest – again – I put t in my work back pack with all my stationery and other items and went about my work week, when i pulled it out to use it, I found that it actually gets really grubby, but nothing that a little damp sponge can’t fix.

Let’s talk about the insides of the Milligram Cotton B5 Dot Grid Bullet Journal

This is where we get to the nitty gritty of the journal. There are 192 pages in the journal, with a black back pocket (I actually really liked the black pockets and inners) There is a basic first page to place your name, and then it is straight into the journal. There is no contents section, or page numbers. There is also no pen testing page. On the back there is a page about Milligram and we will get back to the information on that soon. What I like as well is the binding, and how it flatlays so beautifully.

Pages and Paper of the Milligram Cotton B5 Dot Grid Bullet Journal

What is always really important to me is the gsm and grade of paper. This will determine usually what I use the journal for, if at all.

The paper of the Milligram Cotton B5 Dot Grid Bullet Journal is 85gsm Fabriano boutique bioprima book paper, and I have bought Fabriano paper in the past and actually use it to cover mistakes! HA! So 85gsm is usually a little low for me, I like my paper weights in the high 100’s. So I pen tested this paper and this is where the Milligram Cotton B5 Dot Grid Bullet Journal fell short. The pen test performed pretty poorly. While absolutely there was no feathering on the amazing fountain pen Millegram sent me, there was no feathering. The pages are beautifully white and I love that about them.

However, when I tried my tombows, muji’s etc there was terrible ghosting. Minimal bleeding, but the ghosting was really bad. So much so that when you put the next page over it you could still see the lettering behind the page. I have included pictures to show.

Review Milligram Linen Notebook Dot Grid

The dots are the usual 0.5mm squared and 34 dots across (33 boxes/squares) and 49 dots down (48 boxes/squares) which is more than enough landscape to create some amazing spreads.

Sustainability and ethics of the Milligram Cotton B5 Dot Grid Bullet Journal

As you know this is such an important aspect for me. The journal uses FSC certified paper and is Totally chlorine free. I had a look on the site and couldn’t see any information on Milligram’s approach to sustainability or the sustainable nature of the cotton, but have been assured that this is something they will look into in due course.

The Pros and Cons of the Milligram Cotton B5 Dot Grid Bullet Journal

Pro’s:

  • Absolutely love the size
  • The robustness of the fabric hard cover rocks
  • Bright white paper for vibrancy
  • Australian owned business!

Con’s:

  • The low gsm of the paper
  • The ghosting of the pages

As mentioned overall, I adore the size and would absolutely use this for work, but I would need to keep it minimal and with a ball point as that ghosting would probably drive me nuts. I’m thinking of using it for my 2019 project management because the real-estate on the page is awesome.

Overall I give the review of Milligram Cotton B5 Dot Grid Bullet Journal a 3/5

Milligram Cotton B5 Dot Grid Bullet Journal review

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